Challah Bread

Challah back ya'll! This bread is awesome and you must try making it. I made this the other week to test out a recipe, give it a dry run. It was this months Daring Bakers challenge, hosted by Ruth from Crafts of Mommyhood. I wanted to try to a recipe other than what was supplied, hence the practice recipes and dry runs. A bad habit of mine is to not read the full recipe, just look at ingredients and not amounts or blindly follow the recipe.

The first recipe I made called for close to 8 cups of flour. Didn't think twice about that crazy amount of flour until my stand mixer started to make strange noises, get real hot and have screws fall out. I like to think the screw was already feeling loose and this was just the last straw. I ended up kneading this by hand, good thing I lift weights.

Despite that little mishap (my stand mixer is fine, in case you were worried), the bread was yummy. A little dry, but it didn't stop my brother from eating practically all of it. Since it was a bit on the dry side and I gave away 3/4 of it to my brother (I can't have that much carb temptation in my presence), a new recipe was in order.

Found it (see below)! This guy is super moist, dense and not too sweet. Made this one at the parents, while home for Memorial day. weekend. There were a lot of nasty looks given by my brother, after I most of this loaf. I'm really not as good of a sharer as I seem or think to seem I am. 

After eating most of the loaf, it was decided this bread is on the healthy side of the fence. At least close to it. There is no butter, a little sugar and no butter. The rest is eggs, flour, water and a little oil. If there isn't any butter it has to be healthy, right? You probably don't need to have this sort of conversation with yourself, if you don't eat the whole loaf.

If you do eat the whole loaf, its okay not just because there is no butter. This bread is not fussy or complicated. Easy peasy. The hardest part is waiting for it to rise and not eating  it all imediately. You've been warned though, its eat the whole loaf in one sitting good.

xo

April

Adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or one envelope
3/4 cup warm water
2 large eggs, plus 1 for glazing
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions:

1. Combine 3/4 cup of the flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisking by hand to combine. Then add the warm water and whisk until smooth and let stand 10-20 minutes until foamy and fragrant. 
2. Add the eggs, oil, salt, sugar and honey to the mixture and whisk by hand again until well incorporated. Place the bowl on your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour, mixing until the dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too wet or dry add a little flour or water. Knead the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. At this point it can also be placed covered, in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If refrigerated the dough with take about 30 to 60 minutes longer to rise. 
4. After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and place it on a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, rolling each out into a 1-foot long strand that is slightly thicker in the middle and thinner at the ends. Lay the three strands side by side, pinching them together and then braiding them together, pinching it closed and tucking it under the loaf. Beat 1 egg yolk together with a  teaspoon of water and brush the loaf lightly with it, reserving the mixture for another coat right before baking. Let the bread rise for 1 1/2 hours or until a finger indentation remains after being lightly pushed.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it is nicely browned and the internal temp is 180F. Enjoy and challah back if you like it!